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Let's put the text someone made up here, as it is a nice theory but not okay for the main article to show:

Although, much like the humans, the Gnomes origins are unknown, one such "Gnomologist" has compiled a likely story of origin:
"One possible origin of the Gnome begins with the Burning Legion. Just as they had corrupted the Night Elves through suggestion and promises, the Demons has set their eyes on Sargeras former allies, the Titans. Having birthed the Earthen, the Titans children were a prime target for the Burning Legions corruption. The whispers and voices began in one powerful Earthen, he then attempted, much like the Highborne before the sundering, to summon the burning legion and it's god. Also much like the Highborne, the Demons transformed many of the Earthen into more powerful and controllable forms. The plan backfired as the transformed Earthen were not corrupted or empowered, but mearly deformed. Seeing the Titan's children try to summon the Burning Legion cemented Sargeras' decision, he would try his summoning at a more suitable location, the Well of Eternity. Leaving the corrupted Earthen behind, Sargeras' went to begin what would be called the War of the Ancients. Ashamed of their betrayal and mutation, the tainted Earthen exiled themselves. These Earthen would then be known as Gnomes.
This theory is supported by many pieces of lore;
1. Gnomes are 'cousins' to the Dwarves, perhaps they are more closely related then we thought.
2. In a warlock quest, a human states that Gnomeregan was the HQ of all warlocks until it was destroyed, Gnomes have a connection to the Demonic.
3. The Arcane corruption of the Demons gives purpose to the Gnomes aptitude for magic. Their bodies became slight and small while their minds grew.
4. Sargeras hates the Titans and would've made attempts to corrupt and destroy their creations." Tinkerer

A stronger argument in favor of the dwarven offshoot theory is that gnomes and dwarves each have only 4 digits where humans have 5. However, the other physiological differences between gnomes and dwarves (particularly facial features) are very much so against the notion of a shared ancestry that doesn't span millions of years. For one, it's known that Gnomeregan is a new city. It was constructed roughly 200 years before the coming of the Burning Legion, shortly after the dwarves encountered the gnomes. However, this is contradicted by an account of a gnome being in the Tirisfalen some 850 years before the third war.

However, my own theory of gnomish evolution is that they were not infact a diminished offshoot of the earthen, but rather an enchanced group of the earthen. According to lore, Eonar and Khaz'Goroth created the earthen, and the dwarves reflect this ancestry. My belief is that Aman'Thul, who has dominion over lightning and electricity, forsaw the future evils of his brother Sargeras and set to creating an improved form of the earthen. He recognized that the inhabitants of Azeroth were not strong enough to have a chance of withstanding the coming darkness without leveling the playing field. So, he gifted a small sect of the earthen with the means to do just that. He gave them the logical faculties to overcome the limitations of the physical world in a way that didn't require arcane magic.

Actually dwarves have 5 fingers(like most races), not 4(like the gnomes). Also Gnomes with the tirisfalan before they met dwarves is not a contradiction. What it establishes is that gnomes encountered humans and elves before they encountered dwarves. This would imply that gnomes originated from the north, and slowly came down to the southern continents. Both of these facts could disrupt the fan idea that gnomes are offshoots from dwarves, although they could still be offshoots from titans.Baggins 11:04, 18 November 2006 (EST)

Pretty sure Dwarves have 4 fingers as seen in multiple illustrations and in game shots. My view on the origin of the gnomes is that they are un-forseen mutations of the Dwarves..Rikiche 8:09, 07 June 2010 (EST)

You're wrong, Rikiche. With the revelations in Wrath of the Lich King, we know that the gnomes were created as robots by the Titans, and that they later evolved into our gnomes when the curse of flesh struck. Pretty much like the dwarves evolved from the stony earthen.--WoWWiki-Odolwa (talk) 10:40, June 7, 2010 (UTC)

I don't have time to add it all in currently but Alliance Sourcebook added in some new facts about how the Dwarves met the Gnomes.

But here is a quick run down, including a few amusing and interesting facts;
No one knows the gnomes history before Dwarves discovered them, not even the Gnomes know much of their own history prior to the second war. Apparently about 200 years before Burning Crusade, a Dwarven explorer came across their first Gnomes. He discovered a small village of gnomes. He was shocked to find out while dwarves had just discovered gunpowder, the gnomes already had fully automated village, with mechanical chickens. He and other dwarves offered their friendship, and they accepted, offered to let them build a new city in mountains of Dun Morogh, and thus they built Gnomeregan, at that point gnomes came out of the woodwork. Ever since then the two races have lived side by side. The Gnomes discovered goblins at that point and the two races developed a mercantile feud that lasts to this day.

Gnomes have not had King's or Queens for at least 400 years. They often organize into pairs, for rather mysterious reasons that they don't fully understand.

They have an odd crazy-guy/sane-guy relationship. One is always tyring to push the the limits of his devices to unknowable extrmeds while the other one does everything he can to keep the invention from becoming disasterous.

A single gnome home can hold up to 20 individuals.

And remember, "Go Hug a Gnome, He'll thank you for it".Baggins 11:10, 3 September 2006 (EDT)

Interesting. I might just buy this Sourcebook to use it to update this gnome page, as it's fairly small (no pun intended). --Tinkerer 04:00, 4 October 2006 (EDT)

There's something I still don't get. Which Burning Crusade is he talking about ? Because if it's the one we're about to fight in January, it's self-stupidly-retconning. Does he mean the First War ?--K)(talk) 16:04, 15 November 2006 (EST)

The book is a compilation of notes Brann Bronzbeard has written for a socio-political, political-science, history book he's writing. The book has notes covering some things before world of warcraft (which he wrote during his journey to northrend), during world of warcraft (refrences certain quests in the MMO that have recently be completed by "heroes"), and some things that take place before or the start of the burning crusade. As for term "Burning Crusade" its actually another name for the war that has been going on for millenia lead by the faction known as the "Burning Legion". This definition was hinted in a previous rpg book, even before we first heard of the expansion pack, as I recall.Baggins 23:37, 19 November 2006 (EST)

Gnome Lore - (maybe)

I would say that we are all on the same path - Here is my take on Gnome History.

From the tomb city of Uldum, came a being like the Earthens that helped shaped and guarded the Arcanum of Azeroth. These beings were known as the wards of Malygos the Blue Dragon. Under the control Malygos, these wards of magic grow close the Earthens of Neltharion. As did many of the other beings that shaped the World. These small but brillent wards were blessed with the ability to balance the natural arcane power of the planet and the ability to pull power from other diminions and cosmos. They aid Malygos in the ordering of the World. After the order was complete like other children of titans, these under dwellers were put into a deep sleep. As the Upper World grow and changed the sleepers slept for thousands and thousands of years, until the Great awakening.

These once Wards of Magic awoke from their sleep to find they had adopted flesh and bone. Struggling to make their way from the Great Titan city of Uldum to the surface, they found quickly the surfaceof this regent of world was too savage for their now soft skin and small frames. They rushed to find a better suited environment. Crossing the great seas and climbing the mountains of Azeroth, the small once magical beings nested in small groups all through the new lands. The now new Gnomes made their home living in small villages and hovels learning to expand their talents and skills, the Gnomes once magical wards of Malygos found that they had a nature understanding of a new type of magic call science. Learning how to create potions from flowers and build devices from rock and wood, arcane magic which is at their very core seem to have taken a step back as their newly developed culture and science began to take form.

Sign your posts, please.

I really do like this a lot; nice and well though out. Works with avaliable material, and it definetly makes sense

You can't put a word of it in the article, however. Only official lore can be posted in the article itself, and this is too detailed to bear a speculation tag. I'd advise marking it as fanfiction if you want to give it an article. --Ragestorm(talk · contr) 21:30, 8 February 2007 (EST)

Not bad, i like it although there are a few things i like to mention.

First of all you say that they come from the north. If they did why haven't they been discovered before? If it's big group then some people would have seen them? There has only been sighted one earlier and he could be an explorer, bored at his old place and wanting to see some more.

Also mentioned in 1 of the RPG-books (can't remember wich one) is that science and magic is hardly combined.

I also got a question. It is stated that the "accident" Gnomeregan began between the second and third war. Does anyone know when? The second war ended at year 8 and the third war began year 25. According to the stories it would have been near the third war so i think it is somwhere between year 20 and year 25.

Gnomes can heal themselves when they're Warlock, have you heard of healing stones? - Quinn

Quinn, you removed perfectly valid info, which is why I reverted the change. Yes warlocks can heal - but only themselves (healthstones really don't count). Therefore they are no different to any other class, which could just as easily use a pot or bandages. They cannot heal others directly, however, which is a true healer's role. -- Kirkburn(talk) 21:10, 9 September 2006 (EDT)

(Also, I haven't forgotten your little outburst a while back, so make sure any reply to this is well thought out) -- Kirkburn(talk) 21:27, 9 September 2006 (EDT)

Not to mention that healthstones are tradeable just like potions are. I play a warlock myself and wouldn't exactly call healthstones "healing". --Mikk(T) 09:04, 10 September 2006 (EDT)

A little thing about the character of the average gnome; although the Roleplaying Guide says they take a "fatherly approach" and are "friendly", most gnomes in-game are silly, eccentric, or plain mad. --Tinkerer 13:52, 27 January 2007 (EST)

That's part of the charm. The only person I've ever met who hates the gnomes just loves to hate them. --Ragestorm(talk · contr) 13:55, 27 January 2007 (EST)

Of course, everyone should love gnomes in their own way (donations are always a good way, though ;)) - but that's not what I meant. The book and the game contradict each other here --Tinkerer 14:05, 27 January 2007 (EST)

Well, first of all the Mekgineer is goblin, and I'm not sure how you've decided what race the Mechano-Lord is, if any? However, some Warlocks are Gnomes, and some Warlocks more engulfed in the Darkness and Demon-worshipping than others, qv Shadow Council. -Ballistae 11:37, 2 April 2007 (EDT)

The Mekgineer is a gnome, a leper gnome, but still a gnome :P I thought the Mechano-Lord was a gnome too, seeing as he has the same accent as other boss-gnomes. I really can't imagine a Blood Elf saying the things he does.. --Tinkerer 14:45, 3 April 2007 (EDT)

I always thought Capacitus was just a robot, nothing truly sentient. The name doesn't sound gnomish at all. --User:Varghedin/Sig 20:37, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Maybe the Gnomes were too busy making radical technolgies that they didn't even THINK about how they were created. But, that's just my guess. --IbbertTheGnome 01:08, 7 April 2007 (EDT)

They're probably atheists... which would be kind of odd in Warcraft, but still - they are gnomes. ---- VorbisTalkContribs 22:54, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

You're looking at this too much from our own culture's perspective. Historically, my understanding is, in most pagan cultures, they don't DENY that other people's gods exist, they just believe that theirs are more powerful, at least for their people, in their geographical area. Similarly, in WoW, paladins do not deny that shamans' spirits exist, nor do shamans deny that the Light exists. These, as well as Troll gods, elf gods, qullboar gods, and so forth ad nauseum all exist, and, presumably, everyone knows this. So why do some worship some gods and some worship others? Because it's all to do with your ties, cultural and personal, to each god, and what you think he/she/they can do for you. In short, it's about power: paladins worship the Light to be strong and protect others, shamans worship the spirits to get their blessing, the priestesses of Elune worship her to get her strength, and so on. The gnomes do not worship anyone because their strength does not come from a god, but from technology. In a sense, you could say that they worship technology, although the word "worship" seems to demand an agential direct object, so we would probably say "revere," even though the gnomes utilize technology in much the same way that shamans utilize spirits. --Mizzes (talk) 01:45, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Is there an average weight for a Gnome?- Airiph/T/C/B 01:16, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Blizzard has never released any information regarding the races' height or weight. --Odolwa 11:32, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Height, at least, is in the RPG books afaik. Kirkburntalkcontr 15:57, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Well actually there is a "Random Height and Weight" table for randomizing possible height and weight, much like they did for life spans. But I have no interest in converting it to normal numbers :p.--Baggins 15:59, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Ok I can give you the base weight for gnomes, "40 lb", and base height is 3 feet for the males, and 35 lb and 2'5" for the females.WoWRPG 174Baggins 16:03, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

"The first widely recorded interaction between gnomes and dwarves occurred 200 years prior to the Burning Crusade. As the story goes, a dwarven explorer came across a small gnomish village. He was shocked to discover that while dwarves had just discovered gunpowder, the gnomes already had a fully automated village with such novelties as mechanical chickens. Contact between the two races grew, and soon, they became quick allies, and the dwarves allowed the gnomes to build their capital city, Gnomeregan, in the foothills of Dun Morogh, near the dwarvish capital, Ironforge."

Does anyone have some speculation on that gnomish village? I'm assuming it was in Khaz Modan, but not Dun Morogh, because the dwarves let them build their city there. I'm assuming the gnomes were a racial offshoot of the dwarves so they probably originated in the Badlands but that's a completely different story. Anyone have any thoughts? Commonsense 16:14, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

I was looking at some models in wow model viewer and i noticed that there was another, and rather ugly, gnome model there. Anyone know where it is used in the game, or if it is used at all? ----Lakarialstraz

One thing I've found in the game is that reputation with the Gnomer Exiles is notoriously difficult to gain. Many factions listed in WoWWiki have charts on how to gain rep, but I noted this one doesn't. It would be very useful to have this, if it's possible. Is it possible? Tiraline (talk) 14:04, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

The part claiming that the first interaction between gnomes and dwarfes seems rather anachronistic. First of all, it states that they met 200 years prior to the Burning Crusade. Shortly after that, the War of the Three Hammers began. According to War of the Three Hammers (History of Warcraft), this war is set 230 years before Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (the First War) which I assume happened approximately 20-40 years ago (maybe less, maybe more). The quote of the War of the Three Hammers happening 230 years before the First War is also mentioned on the page for high elves. If this "Burning Crusade" is referring to the expansion pack-movement, it means the meeting between the gnomes and the dwarfs happened 50-70 years too late. If it is referring to the first movement of the Burning Legion in Azeroth (which Baggins already suggested), which happened about 10.000 years ago, it means that the "short" amount of time between their meeting and the War of the Three Hammers spans about 10.100 years. It also means that dwarfs and gnomes have been allies for about 10.200 years already, meaning they teamed up with the gnomes more than ten thousand years before they teamed up with the humans, which are known for being their major allies. My math is outright terrible, but there is most certainly something wrong here (with the lore, that is). Are anyone able to shed some light on this matter? WrathOfDeathfrost (talk) 10:29, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

It is the expansion the text refers to. The text from that section is take from Alliance Player's Guide, where it says "A little over two hundred years ago, [...]". According to the official timeline, that would have happened 40-50 years after the War of the Three Hammers. Either way the War of the Three Hammers is not referenced in the section of Alliance Player's Guide. That was incorrect information. --User:Gourra/Sig2 10:47, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

Page was wrong on the faith part. Gnomes dont believe in religion. in the new X-pac, they can be priest because they are Medics like a doctor, not religious priest. Thats a game mechanic, not a lore change. Gnome priest in the game have always been there, but were titled Medics.--Knighthonor (talk) 01:15, June 6, 2010 (UTC)

You're on the verge of breaking the NDA, I would think, by discussing info from Cataclysm. User:Coobra/Sig4 01:18, June 6, 2010 (UTC)

The holy light is not a religion, nor do Gnomes have any lack of whatever the equivilent of faith is in it.WarthokTalkContribs 01:44, June 6, 2010 (UTC)

Holdout Medics, North Fleet Medics, and the new medical doctor characters in the Operation: Gnomeregan event seem to imply that this is the case for the gnomes. The light is a force, but tapping into it seems to be at least partially religious. The Blood Knights were given their powers by the naaru, they only thought they were mechanically taking it, but I am not completely sure what that means in the long run.--SWM2448 03:46, June 6, 2010 (UTC)

Blizzzard has stated that the Gnomes were given the Priest class because there are Medics in the game. Gnome Medics dont use Holy Light lore wise, they are medical doctors as in first aid. For example, the first aid trainer is in the Cathedral even though its not related to religion. Its a game mechanic.--Knighthonor (talk) 05:50, June 7, 2010 (UTC)

We'll need a citation before it can go in the article.WarthokTalkContribs 06:43, June 7, 2010 (UTC)

Again Knighthonor, i'm not denying what it is you are saying but if you want to phrase it like that in the article you'll need to prvide a source explicitly stating such. If such a source is currently under NDA then it's DNP here and we won't update articles accordingly until the information is relased via an official avenue. Thats why i changed the phrasing to something far more ambiguous for the time being. Reverting the change again without coming to a conclusion here or providing a citation can be construded as vandalism.WarthokTalkContribs 16:49, June 7, 2010 (UTC)

Gnome priests already exist, but are rare. Gnomes tend to rely on medics and doctors for life saving. Not magic. It coudl be that, just as the Forsaken are assuemd to be using the Shadow, Trolls Voodoo and NElfs call on the power of Elune to heal, maybe this is just a shortcut.

They aren't priests. They're medics. There is no NDA to this--Knighthonor (talk) 20:09, June 8, 2010 (UTC)

Well that is what we're trying to get you to do... link the source, so things like these DON'T have to be questioned. This is why we ask for citations. User:Coobra/Sig4 20:13, June 8, 2010 (UTC)

Here one is. It does not say that gnome priests are only medics, just that gnome medics are priests. There was another blue post somewhere about this.--SWM2448 20:14, June 8, 2010 (UTC)

Wait.. you just said Gnomes priests exists but are rare... then you say gnomes aren't priests, but medics... sounds one and the same to me, titles are just titles. I could be named Snake Charmer, doesn't mean I'm not a hunter. User:Coobra/Sig4 20:21, June 8, 2010 (UTC)

By Priest in the game, I was talking about mechanics. As there are undead in the game that cast Holy Spells, but Lore wise, thats wouldnt be the case. Their are Gnome Priest(mechanic wise) in the game, but lore wise they are Medics, which isnt a religious priest like Priest(Lore wise). Each race of Priest, have a religion linked to it. Except Gnomes which are medics, not religion.Hope that explains it enough--Knighthonor (talk) 04:50, June 10, 2010 (UTC)

I don't think you understand. We already get that, anyone with an IQ in the double digits gets that. This was never about that. We were asking for an official source, not your personal explaination. We don't base our articles on people's personal explainations.WarthokTalkContribs 04:58, June 10, 2010 (UTC)

Gnomish society almost appears to be a benign communist state. Their whole 'industrial workers' vibe says it all right off the bat in that their whole society is centered around work instead of romantic pursuits such as war and magic. Their leadership is also based upon social achievement, rather than heredity or combat. Theyre also in an economic and technological conflict with the capitalist goblins. And finally, gnomes have no religion, preferring instead to devote their lives toward inventions which advance their people as a whole (common good). May be just my interpretation, but a newly liberated Gnomeregan could be accurately termed the G.S.S.R. Just look at the obviously Soviet-inspired recruitment poster for Operation:Gnomeregan.
Julzwinfield (talk) 05:04, June 11, 2010 (UTC)

Gnomes are being converted in Cataclysm. Perhaps Gnomes were agnostic but are becoming more convinced of the light due to terrorism? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by McThrustin(talk · contr).

Gnomes were not "agnostic" if that term can even be applied to anything in warcraft, nor do we yet know definetivly what a playable gnome priest entails.WarthokTalkContribs 05:37, June 11, 2010 (UTC)

Basically their just medics that use healing magic.Asajames3 (talk) 01:36, February 25, 2013 (UTC)